Decorated material and trimming



Nv.17,1942. I NAsf 2,302,342

DECORATED MATERIAL AND TR-IMMING Filed Jan. 50, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l wwww/Mg? Flea.

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 17, 1942. L. NAST 2,302,342

DECORATED MATERIAL AND 'TRIMMING Filed Jan. 50, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. Gazon Tlas ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention refers to decorated materials and trimmings for anypurpose, in particular to a material for making curtains, draperies,pillows, upholstery for furniture, furniture trimmings, pocketbooks,collars and cuffs, belts, scarfs, dress trimmings, hat trimmings, shoetrimmings, shoe straps, picture frames, book covers.

Accordingto the invention a preferably sheetlike and somewhat porous orfibrous base, in particular a'fabric of any material, such as cotton,natural or artificial silk, wool, asbestos, or any mixture thereof, or apreferably sheet-like body of non-porous material as of cellulosederivatives (Cellophane) is on one or both sides provided with ornamentsof any shape, size and configuration made of moldable plastic material.As moldable material a thermoplastic material, such as cellulose acetateis preferred.

In general, for the production of the ornaments any plastic material,including thermosetting material, may be used which is moldable and tobe molded at temperatures and solidified or cured for periods of timewhich do not materially affect, in particular, carbonize the material ofthe base.

The moldable plastic material of which the ornaments are made may be ofany desired color, and in particular a plurality o-f ornaments appliedto the base material, may be of the vsame or different colors. Thematerial may also be either opaque, translucent or transparent. Anydesired effect can be obtained by composing a larger ornament of smallerindividual parts which are of the same or different shape and size, ofthe same or different colors, and entirely or partly opaque, translucentor transparent.

According to the invention the ornaments of moldable plastic materialare fastened to the porous or fibrous base by anchoring the ornamentwithin the pores or interstices of the base. 'I'he moldable plastifiedmaterial is caused to penetrate through the pores or interstices of thebase during the manufacture of the individual ornament and some of thematerial remains within the pores or interstices and thereby secures apermanent connection between the ornament and the base. According'to aparticular feature of the invention ornaments are provided on both sidesof the base, and particularly in alignment with each other, so that thedecorated material can be used With both sides exposed.

'The invention also embraces a method of manufacturing a decoratedmaterial in such a Way that moldable material in its plastic state ispressed at confined places, conforming substantially to the l terial.

5 the desired shape of the individual ornament, and

the plastic material pressed through the base fills the cavity and, uponcooling, results in the desired ornament, a portion of which is anchoredwithin the pores or interstices of the base ma- The reverse side of thebase thus united with the ornament can-then be covered, if desired, in asecond process step of manufacture with like moldable plastic materialof the lsame or different color, `and other characteristics ofappearance the same or different than those of the plastic material usedto produce the ornament on the front side in the first process step.

Thus it is an object of the invention to provide a new article ofmanufacture substantially consisting of a porous or fibrous body,preferably a sheet-like flexible material as a base and ornaments ofmoldable plastic material arranged on one or both sides thereof andpermanently united therewith.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new article ofmanufacture composedof a fabric andornaments of moldable plasticmaterial on one or both sides, the ornaments and fabric being firmly andpermanently united.

flexible porous or fibrous, or flexible non-fibrous and sheet-like baseand ornaments of moldable plastic material on one or both sides, withportions of the material used for the ornaments penetrating throughpores, interstices or other openings of the base to its other side andthereby firmly and permanently uniting th-e ornamerits with the base.

It/isfstill another object ofthe invention to provide a new article ofmanufacture composed of a fabric of one color, or color compositionwhich is provided with one or more ornaments of plastic materialprojecting therefrom, the ornaments being firmly -and permanently unitedwith the base and of the same or different color, or

desired configuration of the ornament, from the color composition, thanthe base and composed of a plurality of individual parts of the same ordifferent color, or color composition, and the same or othercharacteristics inter se as to opaqueness, translucency or transparency.

The invention also contemplates a n-ew process of manufacture with theobject of producing the ornament of moldable plastic material in contactwith the iiexible porous, fibrous or non-fibrous base in an eflicientand non-expensive manner.

Thus it is another object of the invention to manufacture in a singlestep a decorated material composed of a porous or fibrous base andornaments of moldable plastic material by molding the plastic materialdirectly onto selected and confined places of the base.

It is another object of the invention to produce an ornament of moldableplastic material on a porous or iibrous, preferably sheet-like exiblebase by molding the ornament directly on the base.

t is still another object of the invention to produce the ornament ofmoldable plastic material on the porous or fibrous, preferably sheetlikebase in such a way that the ornament comes into existence in contactwith the base and is simultaneously firmly and permanently anchoredtherein. v

It is still another object of the invention to produce a decoratedmaterial by molding in a rst step a moldable plastic material onto aconfined place on one side of a permeable, or porous, or brous base, andto mold in'a following step another ornament or cover of moldableplastic material onto substantially the same conned place on the otherside of the base.

These and other objects of the invention will be more clearly understoodas the specification proceeds with reference to the drawings in whichFig. l shows a cross-section through a closed mold adapted tomanufacture a decorated article according to the invention; Fig. 2 across-section through the same mold when open; Fig. 3, on a considerablyenlarged scale, a cross-section through the closed mold according toFig. 1 and along line 3-3 thereof; Fig. 4, on a somewhat smaller scale,a plan view of the lower or exposed side of the article completed in amold according to Figs. 1 and 2;-Fig. 5 the upper or reverse side ofthat article, also on a somewhat smaller scale; Fig. 6, on aconsiderably enlarged l scale, a cross-section along line 6.6 in Fig. 5;Fig. 7, on a considerably enlarged scale, a crosssection through aportion of another mold in which in a second step an ornament ofmoldable plastic material is applied to a portion of the upper orreverse side of the base of an article The cavities are preferablyarranged in rows. Fig. 3 shows an arrangement of three rows in parallel,although any desired number of rows, one as a minimum, may be provided.The mold further comprises a plate I2 slideably arranged on bolts I3fastened to plate I0 in any convenient manner. Any desired number ofbolts I3 may be provided so as to secure and facilitate the movement ofplate I2 in operation.

Between plates I0 and I2 a stripper plate I4, or other suitablestripping means, are provided. Coil springs I5, or other elastic means,serve to press the stripper plate I4 away from plate I2 when the mold isopened,l as can be seen from Fig. 2.

Plate I2 is traversed by a number of holes cach shown with an upper partI6 tapered towards the inside of the plate and continued by a screwthreaded portion I1 of larger diameter than the inner end of the taperedportion I6. Plugs or forcers I8 are screwed into the screw threadedportions I1. Any other connection between these plugs and plate I2 maybe provided depending on whether an exchange for repair or producingother shapes is contemplated. It is to be understood that, if desired,instead of removable plugs their projecting portions could be ma-de inone piece with plate I2.

As can be seen from the enlarged cross-section 4of Fig. 3, the plugs areprovided with a center hole I9 tapered towards their lower ends andforming substantially the continuation of the v tapered channel I6 inplate I2.

completed in the mold according to Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 8 in elevationand partly in cross-section a portion of the thus iinished product; Fig.9 more schematically a machine for molding under pressure, particularlyby injection ornaments upon a base; Fig. 10 a detail of the machine insideelevation; and Fig. 11 in side-elevation a portion of the plasticmaterial solidied within the channels and passages of the mold andmachine, respectively.

Like reference numbers in identify similar parts.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a mold is shown consisting of a plate IUprovided with cavities II on one side. Any desired number of suchcavities diierent figures may be provided, which may be of any desiredshape or size, equal or different inter se.

For simplicitys sake, cup-shaped cavities all of the same size areexemplilied in the drawings.

Another plate 20 is slideably arranged on bolts I3 and provided with anumber of shallow inlet grooves or passages 2|, 22, open towards plateI2 and in substantial alignment with the upper openings of the holes orchannels I6. The number of passages 2I, 22 corresponds to the number ofrows of holes I6 provided in plate I2. The passageways 2I, 22 fordifferent rows communicate with each other through cross-passages orgrooves 23, 24, 25. In Fig. 3 the arrangement of the crossandlongitudinal passages, particularly of cross-passage 23 and longitudinalpassages 2I is illustrated.

2B forms an inlet and 21 an outlet portion of a channel, particularlyinjector nozzle through which the plastied material is pressed into theinlet passages; these portions are tapered towards each other.

Fig. 9 shows diagrammatically a machine in which the mold shown in Figs.1 and 2 can be used. Plate 20 is rigidly but removably attached e. g. bymeans of screws (not shown) to plate 28 of a machine of the well knowntype of an injection machine, and for simplicitys sake, as todescription, I refer to my co-pending applications Ser. No. 128,191, ledFebruary 2'1, 1937, and Ser. No. 175,517, led November 20, 1937, wheresuch a machine is described in more detail.

Plate 28 is attached to a pressure cylinder 29 surrounded by anelectrical heating coil 30. Powdered moldable material is fed fromhopper 32 into cylinder hole 3| by means of an intermittently rotatedfeeding screw or the like 33, and a plunger 34 is then driven into hole3I by means of a hydraulic cylinder 35 (not shown in detail). Therebythe material fed in predetermined amount into cylinder hole 3| is movedthrough the latter, passes the heating zone of coil 30 and enters nozzle36 which is in alignment with and tightly pressed against nozzle 26 ofplate 2D. The mold is closed by means of a toggle lever 31, 38 andhandle 39. Lever 31 is pivotally connected with a slideable pressureplate 45 to which plate I is rigidly but removably connected (e. g. bymeans of screws, not shown) Bolts I3 enter corresponding holes 46, 4'Iin plate 28 and may serve as guide for the opening and closing of themold. Preferably guiding bars 48 are provided on opposite sides of plate45 and engaged by lugs 55 on plate 45. Lever 38 is pivotally connectedwith post 40. 4| is a base plate on which post 40 and supports such as42, 43 and 44 for various' parts of themachine are mounted.

The guiding bars 48 are rigidly connected at one end with plate 28 andat the other end wit post 40.

In operation, the mold is opened by breaking the toggle lever 31, 38 byswinging handle 39 to the left.

A strip 49 of desired, preferably sheet-like material, such as a wovenfabric, gauze of threads or wire, in one or more layers is inserted intothe opened mold between the stripper plate I4, or any other suitablestripping means, and plate IIJ. Then the mold is closed by turninghandle 39 to the right, whereby plate I0 is moved towards plates I2 and20 and eventually all the plates are pressed together to form the closedmold as.

shown in Fig. 1.

It will be appreciated that while the mold is closed the plugs orforcers I8 are forced into strip 49 at places conned by thecircumferences of the cavities II and holes 50 in the stripper plate.Thus the strip will be pressed into the cavities I I. If the material isnot elastic enough, it might be torn partially, but only withinthe.conned space as defined above, and without being entirely cut offfrom the strip of material outside the cavity. Thus also openings in anon-porous base can be produced.

Now moldable plastiedmaterial, preferably of the thermoplastic type,such as cellulose ester, and parti-cularly acetyl cellulose acetate, ofany desired color and tobe made into a transparent, opaque ortranslucent product, is pressed into nozzle 26 by means of the powerdriven plunger 34 and through nozzle 36. From there it passes throughnozzle 2I and longitudinal passages 2I, 22 of each row to the inletchannels I6, and through them and the holes I'I into the cavities I I inwhich shaped or even torn portions of strip 49 are positioned.` Thematerial flows through the pores or interstices of the strip, oropenings produced by tearing of the strip, into the cavity and lls itcompletely.

In Fig. 1 the direction of flow of the plastied material throughpassages 2 I, 22 into the holes is shown by arrows.

They material flows also through the cross passages 23, 24, 25 to otherparallel rows as shown by arrows in Fig. 3.

Thus eventually all the cavities of all rows are filled with theplastied material.

In the case of thermoplastic material the mold is provided with channelsI, 52 through which a cooling medium, such as faucet Water orartificially cooled water, is 'passed while the mld is closed. Therebythe thermoplastic material is quickly cooled 4and solidified.

In order to take care of shrinking, plunger 34 is kept under hydraulicpressure until after the plastic material in the mold is completelysolidied so that additionalplastied material is fed into the mold whileshrinking occurs and all the spaces in the mold and cavities arecompletel lled.

It will be appreciated that by pressing the plugs I8 into the confinedspaces of strip 49, the strip is closely pressed against the plugs, sothat a space 53 is left free for the plastic-'material to completelycover the strip 'on its lower side and form a cup-shaped cover thereof.It will also be appreciated that the thickness of thisjcover dependsupon the dimensions of the cavity, in particular the distance of itsinner surface from the outer surface of the plug.

While in the drawings a relatively thin cover is shown, which issufiicient, however, to give the cover any desired strength so as toretain its shape for all purposes of normal use, the cavities may leavea' larger space free and be of any other shape than cup-shape as shownin the drawings for the sake of simplicity. y

While the plugs may have the same shape and size inter se, the cavitiesmay be of different shape, such as square or rectangular shape, diamondshape etc. Ifv desired, but notvnecessarily so, the outer shape of theplugs cooperating with I the cavities may be of the same o r similarshape as the cavities, but always leaving suflicient space` for both thestrip and the cover to be formed on one side thereof. 1

As can be further seen from the drawings, particularly Fig. 3, strip 49will contact the plugs on their projecting portion and be closer to thecavity near the place where the latter ends in the upper surface ofplate I0. The plastied mate-f rial will penetrate the pores, openings orinterstices of the strip and flow around the threads or other coherentportions of the strip lying within this cavity whereby it is firmly heldin its place relative tothe strip and anchored therein. Experience hasshown that a single channel I9 as shown in the drawings suiices forproducing a cover 54. However, it is feasible that branch channels canbe provided within the plug, particularly, when a relatively large coveris to be produced.

The cooling means can be supplied by means of flexible tubes (notshown). has shown that within 20 to 180 seconds the process ofmanufacture as described is completed, depending upon the size of thecovers to be manufactured, and then the finished article can be removed.

In order to remove the completed article, handle 39 is moved to theleft. Hereby the toggle lever 3`I, 38 is broken olf and plate 45 movedto the left, whereby plate III is taken along and the mold opened. Whilethe mold opens, stripper plate I4 is pressed away from plate I2 bysprings I5, and strip 49 united with covers 54 stripped oil" the plugs I8 and can now be removed.

When the mold is to be opened by means of lever 39, plate I2 has to bebrought intov position according to Fig. 2, and this can be done eitherby hand by the workman controlling the operation of the machine, or bymeans of a structure asv shown in Fig. 10, whereplate I2 is providedwith lugs 59 on opposite sides, through which bolts 60 pass, the ends ofwhich are screw-thread-v ed and provided with nuts 6I while springs B2arearranged between plate 45 and lugs 59 gip..

Fig. 10 one each of these parts is shown on one side of the machine).When the mold is opened,

spring 62 will rst separate plate I2 from plate I0 until lug 5 9 strikesnut 6I, and upon con? tinued movement Aof plate 45 to the left, plate I2will be drawn along and separated from plate 20 to a desired distance.

While plates I0 and I2 separate, the stripper plate I4 is pressed offplate I2 by springs I5,

Practical experience.

and the strip 49 with covers or ornaments 54 just produced thereon cannow be easily removed from the machine. The plastic material solidiiiedin nozzle 21, passages 2|, 2`2 and 23 can also be removed in the form,shown in Fig. 1l. It will be appreciated that stud 63 was previouslyplaced in nozzle 21, branches 64, 65 in the passages 2I, 22 and stud 66in channels I6, I9. In order to remove them, plate I2 has to beseparated far enough from plate 20 and its bolts I3 must belong enoughto effect a proper spacing.

The material of parts 63,64, 65, 66 can be mixed with other raw materialand be used again, as is well-known in the thermoplastic art. Afterparts 63 to 66 have been removed the mold is ready for the nextoperation.

The product obtained will look on its lower or exposed side 61 as shownin Fig. 4 where the covers 54 form the desired cup-like ornaments ofplastic material firmly and permanently connected with and anchored inthe strip. The upper or reverse side 68 will look as shown in Fig. 5,where the material of the covers penetrated the strip at 56 and isaccumulated on the sides of the holes 51 formed in the hollowprojections of strip 49 by the plugs I8 when forced into the latter.

In an enlarged cross-section, a portion of the new' product will look asShown in Fig. 6, which requires no further explanation.

Sometimes it is advantageous to make the plugs I8 asymmetrical,preferably to flatten them on opposite sides where theyY projectdownwardly beyond stripper plate I4 in the closed position of the mold,so that additional plastic material may flow into the larger spacesbetween the opposite flattened sides of the plug and the cuplike cavity.The eifect of this is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where a larger amount ofmaterial accumulated at opposite sides 58 is shown, resulting fromcorrespondingly attened portions of the plug.

If two or more nozzles and hoppers are used in the machine, as wellknown in the art and particularly shown in my co-pending applicationsreferred to above. e. g. each row of plugs may be` fed with plasticmaterial of different characteristics, such as color; or, e. g.transparent material may be used for one row, and opaque material foranother. As will be appreciated by anyone skilled in the art, anydesired variation as to color, transparency, translucency or opaque.-ness can be arrived at by the use of a correspending number of hoppers,ejector nozzles and inlet passages leading to selected inlet holes I6.

It will be appreciated further by those skilled in the art that thecavities need not be of the same shape or size, but any-desiredvariation can be brought about in this respect as well as their relativearrangement without deviating from the idea underlying the invention, inorder to obtain a desired composite ornament. The arrangement shown inthe drawings has been selected for the sake of simplicity only, and itis to be understood that the invention is by no means confined to anyshape, size, or configuration of the ornaments and disposition ofpassages, cross passages, mold o1- parts thereof, but is to be derivedin its broadest scope from the appended claims.

If thermosetting materials, such as resin plastcs are used, the processis the same in principle as described above. Instead of thermoplasi ticmaterial, thermosetting material is fed through nozzle 36 into the mold.It is also heated, if desired, to its plastic state. While it is in themold, instead of a cooling medium, steam of sufficient pressure is fedto channels 5I, 52 in order to produce the desired heat for completeconversion and solidication (curing) of the material. This can be donee. g. within-3 to l0 minutes. Care should be taken, however, that thetemperature developed in the mold does not impair or destroy thematerial of strip 49."`

If a fabric e. g. of asbestos or wire gauze is used, very hightemperatures and fast processing may be applied. If base materials areused which are liable to carbonize, lower temperatures have to beapplied. However, since air has no access to the interior of the closedmold burning olf of the material is prevented to a certain extent. It isalso possible to apply a protecting varnish, such as aphenol-formaldehyde varnish, for protecting the fabric againstdeterioration in the mold.

As can be seen from Fig. 6, the new article of manufacture has anexposed (or front) side 61 and a reverse side 68, to which I will referalso in the appended claims. The ornaments 54 are applied to the exposedside, and the reverse side shows a hole 51. If the thus decoratedmaterial is intended to be used with both sides visible, it might bedesirable to have the holes 51 covered.

To this effect strip 49 with ornaments 54 is positioned in another mold,Fig. 7, comprising a plate 10, substantially the same as plate IU, ontowhich strip 49 with ornaments ts therefore. To the reverse side of strip49 another plate 1I is applied having a cavity 12 connected with achannel 13 tapered towards the cavity. Cavity 12 may be cup-shaped thesame way as cavity II, as shown in Fig. 7, or of any other shape orsize; plate 1| may even be at or convex and in the latter case projectsomewhat into hole 51. Through nozzle 13 plastied material preferably ofthe same kind, i. e. acetyl acetate, if it was used for producing cover54, is pressed in or injected, and its color, transparency or opaquenessmay be the same as that of cover 54, though 'it is possible to useanother color, or to make it i. e. transparent if cover 54 is opaque,etc. Any variation and ornamental effeet can be obtained, as will beappreciated by anyone skilled in the art without further illustration.

The plastied material 69 pressed into cavity 12 is cooled and coalesceswith the material 56 of the ornament previously applied. In this respecta process as described for instance in my copending application Ser. No.175,577, referred to above, may be used, and as to its operation I referto the description in the aforementioned application.

The new article of manufacture thus obtained is of an appearance asshown in Fig. 8, where 54 is the ornament applied to the exposed side ofstrip 49 in the first step, and 69 that applied to the` reverse side ina second step, as described with reference to Fig. '1.

It should be understood however that the ornament 69 shown in Figs 1 and8 as projecting from the reverse side of the base 49 may be of Aanyother shape, and particularly form merely a ller, or cover of hole 51.In the latter case, it may not project at all or even be concave, aswill be understood by anybody skilled in the art and therefore does notneed particular illustration.

It will be appreciated that by the process of manufacture hereinbeforedescribed, plugs or able portion of the cavity whereby the amountofplastic material for the ornament is reduced to the smallest possibleamount permitting to form a rigid,.coherent and smooth cover on theexposed sideof the base.

It will also be appreciated that instead of a fiat permeable base orfabric, as illustrated hereinbefore, a permeable base or fabric may beused which is provided with pre-shaped hollow projections into which theplugs or forcers I8 fit. The pre-shaped hollow projections may also beof different shape than the plugs and then finally shaped, particularlyenlarged by the plugs or forcers when pressed from the reverse side ofthe base or fabric into the pre-shaped hollow projections.

Although the saving on plastic material forms a substantial advantage ofthe invention, it should be appreciated that my invention also ernbracesthe feature in which shorter or no plugs or forcers whatsoever are usedand the fiat and permeable base is positioned in front of the cavity andthe plastic material is pressed through it to fill the cavity and formthe desired projecting ornament. In the latter case it is important,however, that the base be porous or provided with interstices throughwhich the plastified material can penetrate so as to fill the cavity andbe anchored in the base. If the base is nonporous and withoutinterstices they should be produced by piercing the thin base withinconfined places to lie in front of the cavities. Thus a sufficientnumber of needleholes may be pierced into a thin non-fibrous base, suchas consisting of one or more layers of celulose derivatives, and it isalso feasible than thin sheets of other material which is fiexible orsomewhat rigid, such as of metal, are provided with a number of holeswithin a confined space to lie in front of the cavity, through which theplastified material is pressed.

It is therefore within the idea of the invention that an ornamentalproduct as shown in Fig. 8 be manufactured in such a way that apermeable strip (base), which may be preshaped to form a projection ormay even be fiat, is positioned between two mold cavities as shown inFig. 7, and the plastifled material pressed through nozzle 13 Cil intocavity 12, then through strip 49 and eventually into the cavity of platel0. Thus in a single process both the portions 69 and 54 are molded ontoopposite sides of strip 49 and, upon solidication, permanently unitedtherewith.

It is also to be understood that instead of pure plastic moldablematerial a mixture of it with any desired filler may be used, the latterbeing finely divided and intimately admixed with the powdery plasticmaterial before it is pressed into the cavity, it being a condition thatthe particle size of the filler is small enough to easily penetrate theholes or interstices of the base without clogging them. Inserts may alsobe arranged in the cavities before they are covered by the base so thatupon pressing the plastied material into the cavity, the plastifiedmaterial flows around the insert and upon solidification keeps itrigidly in place. Such inserts may consist, for instance, of rhinestonesor other ornamental parts.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to any specificexample referred to herein or shown for illustration purposes but to bederived in its broadest aspects from the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a permeable fabric preshaped withina confined place so as to form a hollow projection, a cover of plasticmaterial molded onto the convex outside of and substantially coveringsaid projection so as to form an ornament, said material also beingtraversed by and thereby permanently united with said fabric.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a permeable fabric preshaped at aconfined place so as to fabric.

by and thereby united with said fabric -at least at said confined place,another cover substantially of thermoplastic material molded onto theother side of said fabric at least into the concave hole of saidprojection and united with said penetrating material and said fabric.

LEON NAST.

